CHAPTER 42: CH-42

On the second floor, three men were waiting.

Using the railing for momentum, I slid sideways under a hail of bullets and took all three down before they even had a chance to react.

The sync rate kept rising. Finishing this Rambo-style attack would get me closer to the real ending.

More confrontation followed, but I managed to push through. The terrorists were armed, sure, but their lack of training made it possible for me to advance.

Eventually, I reached the top floor.

I kicked the door open but didn’t step inside.

"Castle, we meet again."

A female voice echoed .

I peeked through the doorway and froze. A tall woman with platinum hair and almonds blue eyes stood there, dressed in black camo.

Another set of memories flooded in, but this time they were more personal.

She wasn’t just any enemy—she was Castle’s ex, a double agent who sold her country’s secrets.

Castle was tasked with killing her... but in the end, he spared her life.

A lifetime of killing might leave one numb, but ending the life of someone you truly loved shatters the soul.

"I didn’t expect to see you here, Yuri. I thought you might have changed after I spared your life... but here you are, siding with these goddamn terrorists."

"Terrorist?" She narrowed her eyes. "Castle, you’re still as stuck-up as ever when it comes to your duty."

"We both know your country loves throwing around the words ’terrorist’ and ’freedom’ to interfere with other nations. In my eyes, you’re the terrorist—coming into foreign lands and killing their people."

She paused and aimed her pistol at me. "And for what? So you could monopolize the oil in this country?"

I had to admit... she wasn’t entirely wrong. Still, in war, the winners always write the rules.

Closing my eyes, I pulled deeper into Castle’s memories, hoping to sound more like him when speaking.

"Yuri, this country has been secretly building nuclear bombs without any authorization—and they may be working on biological weapons too."

She shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. "All that propaganda again. Do you really think a country this poor could actually pull that off?"

Ultimately, we failed to understand one another

"Let’s stop talking about ideals. We both have our principle. I’m giving you a chance to surrender, Yuri."

Her mouth curled into a sneer before she pulled the trigger.

BANG!

Small pebbles flew across my cheek as I ducked back behind the concrete wall.

I didn’t fire back right away. My synchronization was at 99%, so I had to make the right choice—whether to kill her or not.

Exhaling slowly, I focused on her memories with Castle, scanning through the good and the bad. One memory stood out.

I tossed a rock at the corner to catch her attention, then slipped out from cover, pistol already aimed at her.

We stood there, motionless, barrels pointed at each other’s skulls.

"I don’t want to kill you, Yuri. I... I still love you. I’ll let you escape this place."

Her eyes welled up. My words reached her, and slowly, she lowered her gun.

"Me too—" !

BANG!

A bullet struck her head. The thought that the man who loved her could do this never crossed her mind—until it happened.

But the 100% synchronization rate confirmed I had made the right decision.

Why?

Turns out, while Castle was out there fighting for his country, she’d been sharing a bed with his superiors, and even his own teammates to get intel.

I wagered on his resentment over the way she humiliated and played him—and it paid off.

[SIMULATION OVER]

My vision went blank, and I found myself back in my room.

The sensation was still there, and I knew that with a cold weapon, I could easily mimic Castle’s mastery of firearms and close combat.

I would be even deadlier, since I could harness Qi to my advantage in the real world.

"Resonance." Activating the ability, I immediately felt the difference between the cards.

Comparing both was like the difference between an HDD and an SSD—the information and experienced just flowed faster.

[Host: A special ability from F. Castle’s Card has been granted to you.]

[Combat Awareness: Skill acquired.]

[Combat Awareness: Grants the ability to quickly react to dangerous situations by assessing environmental variables and other factors—a skill honed through countless life-and-death experiences on the battlefield.]

"Sweet!" I whistled, unable to hide my excitement.

"System, can I use my Upgrader again on the ’Castle Card’? What would happen if I did?"

[Affirmative, Host. However, the Castle Card is a low-level card, so it would be better to save your upgrades for a more powerful one in the future.]

I kind of get what the System was saying — even if both skills were boosted the same, the higher-grade one would always come out stronger.

With that out of the way, I focused on my Awakening Card. It was bigger than the previous ones, and black mist swirled around it.

click!

[Manual Mode] [Auto mode]

There were two options right off the bat.

"What’s the difference between automatic and manual?"

[Automatic Integration: A randomized awakening process based on probability tiers.]

A new window appeared, listing the probabilities:

C Rank – 50%B Rank – 30%A Rank – 15 %S Rank – 5 %

Damn it, I hated stuff that relied on luck because of my past experience. I was the kind of guy who always threw tons into gacha and came up with two stars trash characters.

"What about the other option?"

[Manual Integration: A mind simulation where you must undergo a tailored trial. Completing it allows you to choose your power type, offering greater flexibility, and a chance to earn ranks higher than S ]

[Note: Failure in manual mode will not result in death. You will simply need to get another card to attempt again.]

If it were earlier, I probably would’ve picked auto mode. But I’m much more powerful now so might as well take the chance.

To hell with it.

Out of nowhere, a blinding flash of light swallowed my vision, and it felt like my soul was being ripped out of my body, making me regret my decision instantly.

This felt nothing like the last simulation. Before, it was like dreaming... but now? I wasn’t even sure if I was still in my body.

When my vision slowly stabilized, I blinked and found myself in a chamber that looked like it came straight out of an old castle.

The ceiling was high and arched, with dark stone beams disappearing into shadow.

’I’m using my own body?’ I raised my hand and tried to feel the Qi in the air. To my surprise, it was even denser than the one in the hospital— almost ten times.

"Inhale."

I breathed in deeply, wondering if I could actually cultivate here. The System said it was only a simulation, but somehow... it didn’t feel that way.

"Exhale"

My veins pulsed, and it felt like the air was mixing with my blood. I took deeper breaths, trying to pull in more of that strange energy.

Then, a deep rumble shook the ground, snapping me out of my focus.

’What the hell is going on?’